


The real hero

by mountain_spiderling



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: A little angst bc Uncle Ben, Enjoy some father-son fluff, Fluff, Gen, Heck no, Here have this anyway, I Tried, IN JULY?, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Short One Shot, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, and he gets one, not beta read we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 14:25:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19832080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mountain_spiderling/pseuds/mountain_spiderling
Summary: But how to squeeze all this huge mass of feelings into a single scrap of paper? How could he express just how much Mr. Stark meant to him, how his support was more than Peter could have ever even dared to hope for? This was freaking Iron Man who he was trying to write a father`s day card to for pity`s sake! He wouldn`t even know where to begin…He blinked.And then, suddenly, he did.orPeter tries to give his hero a father`s day card. How hard can it be?





	The real hero

**Author's Note:**

> (somewhere in May) me: hey I should totally write an Irondad father`s day fic this year :D!!!! It`d be so much fun oh goodness gracious yes  
> (june 16th sneaks up on me while I have 2 family reunions, 1 certification, 3 other proyects I should be working on and a ton of good ol` homework) me: *hiding from my responsabilities under a table* scrEECH  
> :P  
> oh well  
> Hopefully this doesn`t suck too much. I know it`s a wHoLe mOnTh LATE but lord help me I was going to get this thing done this year if it kiLLED me. Happy late father`s day 20biteen! I did it for my favourite father-son duo PLEASE NEVER LET THIS FANDOM DIE I LOVE THEM  
> enjoy

Peter banged his head on the desk in frustration and let out a groan.

An hour and a half ago, he`d been convinced he had a whole lot of ideas for the perfect card and he`d join Ned and _Revenge of the Sith_ playing on his laptop soon enough, but apparently it was harder to place feelings on a single scrap of paper than defeating some wannabe villains he`d dealt with this month. Go figure.

“Useless. Empty. Brain” he banged his head dramatically with every word, making several scrunched-up paper balls fall off the table. He flung himself back on his chair and let out an overly despairing sigh. “I`m done. I`ve got nothing!”

Ned pried his eyes away from his laptop and raised an eyebrow at his friend`s dramatics from his spot on Peter`s bed.

“Wow” he said drily, trying to conceal a grin and failing. “Washed up at 14. So sad”

Peter scowled at Ned`s deadpan voice. “Okay first off I am fift e e n- _stop laughing Ned this is serious_ \- and seCOND, don`t you _dare_ quote Disney at me when I’m in despair- “

To his annoyance, Ned only snorted and laughed harder at Peter`s pouting, but the laugh quickly turned into a yelp of surprise when Peter tore the page he`d been writing on from his notebook and threw it directly at his head. (Hey, it wasn`t his fault his aim had improved considerably ever since the spider bite.)

A few months ago Ned would have seen it coming and dodged it easily, but now it hit him with a satisfying _smack_ on the forehead.

Ned glared at him playfully for a few seconds and then started unfolding the scrunched-up paper curiously, wanting to know what Peter had been hiding from view for the past hour. “Ned no, _wait-_ “ Peter flew out of his desk chair so fast it went rolling away to the other side of the room, but he still wasn`t quite quick enough to grab the paper before Ned saw his scribbled handwriting inside.

His eyes widened comically and Peter would`ve probably laughed if he wasn`t absolutely mortified at his friend reading what he`d been planning to write for months now.

“ _Dude what th_ -“ Peter tore the page from his friend`s grasp, knowing full well it wouldn`t make a lick of difference for the avalanche of questions that was coming but fruitlessly hoping otherwise. _This would be a really great time for a crazed supervillain to spontaneously appear! Why do things only want to kill me when I don`t actually want them to?_

Thankfully, he didn`t need a spontaneous supervillain for interruptions when he had his Aunt`s cooking.

A loud beeping noise suddenly came from the kitchen, and Peter grinned with relief. “Oop, gotta help Aunt May! We`ll talk later Ned” He then all but ran out of the room, leaving a spluttering Ned behind.

_Yeah_ , he loved his Aunt`s timing.

**************

Since Ned couldn`t say anything in front of Aunt May, Peter managed to avoid explaining himself all through helping his Aunt clean up the kitchen and then going out to dinner at the local Thai restaurant, but he still got plenty of side looks and could practically feel his friend exploding with curiosity all through the evening.

Peter avoided Ned`s questions until he finally went home, but he couldn`t escape from his own thoughts that night as he tore yet another page from his notebook and flung it at the trash.

Honestly, he didn`t even know what he was doing anymore.

He hadn`t even thought of this particular day ever since Uncle Ben`s death. His memories about his father were few and vague and far in between, but he`d always had Uncle Ben to turn to, to help with the embarrassing questions and the science projects and the Halloween costumes, to teach him how to ride a bike and to catch him when something inevitably caught on the wheel and he went tumbling down the street and scraped both knees.

He was there for the nightmares and the bad days and the movie nights where Peter and Aunt May would end up counting how many popcorn kernels they could throw at Uncle Ben before he woke up, because more often than not he`d end up falling asleep five minutes into whatever movie they were watching and it`d take their joint efforts to make his booming snores stop.

He was there to sing a deliberately horrendous off-key happy birthday every year, and to give Peter all of his massively enveloping warm hugs which made him feel safe and cared for and so incredibly _loved_ every single time.

And now all of that was just...gone.

Aunt May was everything he had now, and even though Peter loved her more than he could ever even begin to express and she was the most admirable and kind and resilient mother figure he could ever hope for, things were just…it wasn`t the same. And it`d never be again.

He`d never have anyone else to look up to as someone who`d look after him and who he could hope to be like, someone who he could share his worries and accomplishments with. He`d never have another father figure again.

And then Tony had shown up.

Of all the people in the planet who he could have possibly met, Tony freaking Stark was not someone who he`d thought he`d grow attached to. At first it was obvious he only needed help and wanted to work with him for his skills, but a few visits to the compound turned into regular ones, and while at first they were only focused on improving his suits’ night vision or web-shooters or _You have to stop Karen activating the creepy eyes and the kill mode on her own Mr Stark, please_ working on the lab until late soon turned into sleepovers, and those turned into movie nights and before Peter even realized it he`d grown comfortable with having Happy pick him up from school every friday and “working” (*cough* messing around with _insanely_ cool tech in the lab with Mr Stark *cough*) to either heavy rock music or Peter`s Broadway musicals blasting on the speakers.

No one could ever come close to replacing Uncle Ben, and Peter had made peace with that, but when Peter was sick with some weird flu that managed to get past his usual healing abilities and made him react even worse than a normal person while Aunt May was away for the weekend, it was Tony who took him to the compound and called Bruce to help him make medicine that`d work with his metabolism.

It was Tony who took him and Ned to the movies after finals that one time, and who made them laugh so hard they got noticed and had to leg it out of there before the reporters got wind he`d spent a good two hours having a popcorn war with two teenagers at a crappy cinema.

It was Tony who calmed Peter down from a massive panic attack after a nightmare one early morning, and who helped him get his bearings again with a hug. “ _So we`re finally there now?” “Shut up and go back to sleep underoos. I`ll be here”_

Mr Stark was always there, whether it was just listening to him rattle out his Star Wars theories or teaching him how to do his tie while giving him advice on how to go about his first date with MJ. “ _She`s just super scary but so so pretty and smart and she`s actually really cool when you get to know her and I just-““Woah, hey hey slow your roll kid. You`ll be fine. Just give her those Bambi eyes and she`ll fall over heels for you. But if you need a distraction just text me and I`ll get you out of there.”_

_(What Peter didn`t know was that Tony spent the evening watching him from two tables away and grinning when the kid laughed so hard at something MJ said he knocked over a water jug and turned several interesting shades of red while MJ just snorted and mopped up the mess. It was a good night.)_

Peter smiled sleepily as one by one, he was hit with a wave of memories, and a sense of fondness and admiration and indescribable gratitude washed over him.

But how to squeeze all this huge mass of feelings into a single scrap of paper? How could he express just how much Mr. Stark meant to him, how his support was more than Peter could have ever even dared to hope for? This was freaking _Iron Man_ who he was trying to write a father`s day card to for pity`s sake! He wouldn`t even know where to begin…

He blinked.

And then, suddenly, he did.

Peter straightened out and grabbed another piece of paper and some coloured pencils with new-found determination. What better way to begin than at the very start of everything? He picked his phone up to see the time but then thought better of it and turned it off. _I`ve got this._

********************

The first few years after Howards death, Tony had done what he always did when something reminded him of his father: drink himself to near unconsciousness.

He`d never enjoyed the occasion much though, even before his parent`s death. He had some vague, fuzzy recollection of trying to give Howard something for father`s day, only to be immediately brushed aside and ignored. He didn`t even try after that, and he almost always deliberately forgot the date like it meant nothing.

And it didn`t, for a while, until the first June after the car accident came along. He couldn`t remember much of that day now, except for the burning pain that threatened to swallow him whole and had nothing to do with the several bottles of scotch he`d forced down his throat. He could also remember Rhodey shouting at him when he eventually found his sorry state, but not much after that. The years didn`t make the pain much better, but at least now he could look at the date and resist the urge to lose himself to the blissful confusion that came with drinking.

Besides, he couldn`t very well attend to a certain spider-kid if he drank himself into a stupor, now could he?

He`d noticed the kid had been jumpier than usual this weekend, but he knew Peter would probably just end up blurting out whatever was on his mind sooner or later. At least Tony hoped so. All his nervous energy was starting to put _Tony_ on edge. The kid had brushed off his questioning when they were working in the lab, and all through dinner (Tony was still amazed at how Peter managed to eat about half his body weight in pizza and breadsticks and _still_ have room for ice cream. Man, that kid could eat.)

It wasn`t until they were on the couch watching Star Trek that Peter finally cracked.

“Hey, uh Mr.Stark?”

_Ah, there we go_

Tony turned and looked at him properly, startled to find the poor kid was practically shaking with nerves while rummaging through his schoolbag. “Yeah?” _Jesus_ , Tony hadn`t seen the kid look that anxious in a long time…probably since even before he started coming around to the tower. When Peter didn`t offer a response, Tony tried again. “Kid? Everything okay?”

Peter finally found what he was looking for and took it out, holding it hesitantly for a few seconds, eyes glued to the floor. “I um- here.” He placed it on the coffee table for Tony to take and then immediately curled in on himself. “that`s um yeah. It-it`s for you”

Eyebrows raised, Tony took it, growing increasingly confused. He was holding a plain red envelope, with a hint of gold paint right in the middle. Tony opened it and found two pieces of paper glued to each other carefully. The first one had Peter`s scribbled handwriting on it.

“Peter? What`s all this?” He was beyond confused right now. “Not that I don`t appreciate it kid, but you already gave me a birthday card. In May, remember?” The kid hadn`t been this nervous when he`d given Tony a huge scrapbooking masterpiece that now hung proudly from the living room, waiting to be framed. (And if it made Tony`s heart into mush every time he looked at it, well, that was his secret to keep, thank you very much) “Level with me here kid. Did I miss something?”

Peter swallowed. “It`s June” he said, clearing absolutely nothing up for Tony`s brain. “June 16th? Just- yeah um it might be better if you just read what it says? Please?”

Confused frown firmly in place, Tony started to read.

_Mr. Stark_ (said the letter)

_I know you`re not one for sentiment, but Uncle Ben used to say one of the worst things you could do was forget to say thank you to someone who could forget how good they were, so I`ll just take his advice and try doing this._

_Y`know it`s actually kind of funny, I`m sure you don`t know this, but the first time I ever saw you I was pretty much suffocating inside this plastic iron man mask and trying not to get trampled under the crowd while you gave everyone autographs at the Stark Expo. I saw you for like three seconds but Aunt May swears I talked her ear off for hours afterwards._

_I don`t actually remember that bit much, but I`ll never forget the next one. I remember there was this huge hammer drone in front of me and I was terrified but I also really thought I could take it on so I held out my hand with the plastic gauntlet and willed it to work with all my might and then suddenly you showed up and blasted it for real and oh boy poor Uncle Ben and May probably didn`t get a wink of sleep that night because 7 year old Peter`s world imploded with the fact that he`d literally fought side by side with freakin IRON MAN AT THE COOLEST EXPO IN THE UNIVERSE IN ONE NIGHT!!!_

_Uncle Ben`s not around to listen to my rambling anymore, and I`m honestly not sure if my dad ever was in the first place but…but whenever we`re working in the lab together and I start talking nonsense and gesturing so fast I knock something over, you`re always there to brush it aside like it`s no big deal and listen to me, whether it`s 5 pm or a delirious 3 in the morning._

_Whenever I screw up on patrol and get myself hurt or in trouble (which yeah okay, I admit I’m not always great at telling you when I need help :P) you’ve never failed to come after me and be there to tell me off and give me pudding cups and call May and do whatever it is that needs to be done to help me get better._

_You`re just…you`re always there Mr Stark_. _Scolding or giving me suit upgrades or helping me with physics homework or laughing with me or making sarcastic quips or just taking care of me…. you’re always there for me when I need you._

_So thank you. I will never be able to truly express the massive impact you`ve done in my life and just how lucky I got to be a part of yours, but thank you. For encouraging me to be the best superhero I can be and still be myself. Everyone looks up to Iron Man, and of course they should, but you, Mr. Stark? You`re the real hero._

_And you`ll always be my favourite._

_Hoping you have a happy father`s day,_

_Peter_

The second page had three drawings on it. The first one had Iron Man next to a little boy with a plastic mask and gauntlet firing at something together. The second one had Spiderman and Iron Man flying through the buildings of New York side by side. And the last one was a picture of Peter and Tony eating McDonalds in the lab the week before, Peter scarfing down three cheeseburgers while Tony just looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

Looking at the pictures now Tony thought back to what Howard`d said to him as a child about Stark men and crying, and mentally flipped him off.

Stark men don`t cry, his ass.

“Pete. I-“ _Good lord_ he needed to get a grip. “C`me here kid”

Peter looked up in surprise and Tony swore the kid`s smile would blind him one of these days but screw that he was hugging his kid and bawling his eyes out and he didn`t care, he didn`t care because he wasn`t a child being neglected by Howard anymore and if he wanted to cry over the fact he was holding his kid then _he could_.

He was Tony Stark, and he was Peter`s hero. 

And that was the best damn thing he could ever be. 

**Author's Note:**

> *-* i tried  
> Thank you for reading my attempt at fanfiction (first thing I`ve ever had the courage to finish writing and post on here haha help) PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT IF YOU`D LIKE!!! IT WOULD MAKE THIS DUMPLING VERY HAPPY!!! GOODNESS KNOWS I COULD DO WITH SOME CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM  
> see ya  
> YEET


End file.
